Holiday Road
It aired... Canada: November 22nd, 2009 U.S: April 23rd, 2010 Summary A Plot I had my doubts about Holiday Road (and Start Me Up) and was convinced they’d be horrid, but they were both fairly decent. Not great, but watchable. Emma returns (along with Kelly) as they’re preparing for a cross-country bike tour to promote going green. One of the great things about this episode is that Emma actually showed LIFE. Emma’s character was basically butchered after the shooting in Season 4, leaving her to be nothing but a bore (excluding a handful of moments) in the seasons afterward. In Holiday Road, she throws out some snarky one-liners and even gets *gasp* angry! Not to mention this storyline about her wanting to help people/save the environment is a tribute to the classic Emma. Now the drama between Emma and Kelly? Didn’t like that so much. Kelly was bascially going along with Emma on this trip, ignoring the fact that his dad wants him to get a paying job for the summer (their trip is a volunteer project). Their arguing leading up to the breakup seemed random (mainly because we hadn’t seen either character in so long), and the breakup itself seemed forced. But despite that the revelation of Emma’s return hits a high not when she reveals that she’s failing her classes at Smithdale, in front of a group of kids at Degrassi nonetheless. And in that moment when Emma paints over Alli’s fantasy of what college life is like with her own reality….I just knew I wanted to learn how to fix a bike. Thanks Snake! B Plot I was waiting to rip this plot to shreds because it’s about Danny and Chantay, who I envision being as boring of a couple as Danny and Leia were. But as a guy I am obligated to give this plot a good grade, if only for them bringing up their issue in the first place. Danny and Chantay go out on a date and instead of splitting the bill, Danny thinks they should each pay their own share (Chantay’s was more than his). Then Chantay goes to her blog and basially says Danny is cheap. Dude. Really? Danny, you’re in the wrong on this one. Now before I tell my opinion on who should pay, I need to say that this plot sort of wrapped up very awkwardly. It’s like after the debate between Danny, Chantay and the entire class, the conflict came to a screeching halt…then things went back to normal. But in the end, what matters is that this topic was brought up in the first place, because there’s too many douchebags in real life making the rest of us guys look bad. *MY* personal belief on the issue (as a guy) is this: if you’re a guy and you’re on a date with a girl early in the relationship, you must either 1) pay for the date, or 2) split the bill 50/50, but only if SHE offers. Unless she brings up any alternative like splitting it or going dutch, etc., the assumption is that the guy pays, end of story.